Weekly anb02207.txt #7

[anb-bia <anb-bia@village.uunet.be>]

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 20-02-2003      PART #7/7


* Zambia. Chiluba loses immunity appeal  -  19 February: In a landmark 
decision, Zambia's Supreme Court has ruled that parliament acted legally 
and properly last year in removing the immunity of former president 
Frederick Chiluba. This means that Mr Chiluba no longer enjoys protection 
from the law as guaranteed in the constitution and paves the way for an 
imminent arrest on charges of corruption. Mr Chiluba was stripped of his 
immunity after being accused by his successor, President Levy Mwanawasa, of 
misusing millions of dollars of government money. It is the first time such 
a decision has been made in Zambia and the Commonwealth and it will have 
massive ramifications for current and future Zambian presidents. Mr Chiluba 
denies all the allegations.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 February 2003)

* Zambie. Rejet de l'appel de Chiluba  -  Le 19 février, la Haute Cour a 
rejeté la demande d'appel de l'ex-président Fréderick Chiluba contre la 
levée de son immunité parlementaire, par laquelle il voulait éviter 
l'arrestation et le procès pour corruption. La Zambie est depuis plusieurs 
mois le théâtre d'une véritable lutte entre l'actuel président Mwanawasa et 
son prédécesseur. Le chef de l'Etat est accusé par Chiluba et par une 
partie de l'opposition d'avoir accédé à la présidence grâce à des fraudes 
électorales. En juillet dernier, Mwanawasa a répliqué en accusant Chiluba 
et une cinquantaine de ses plus proches collaborateurs de corruption. Ceci 
avait provoqué un véritable séisme politique suivi de démissions, 
d'échanges d'accusations et de menaces entre l'actuel gouvernement et 
Chiluba. L'ex-président et ses collaborateurs sont accusés d'avoir détourné 
l'équivalent de 80 millions de dollars en 10 ans de pouvoir.   (Misna, 
Italie, 19 février 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Rift halts EU-Africa summit  -  Europe's relations with Africa 
suffered a severe blow yesterday when a summit between leaders of the two 
continents was shelved in a dispute over EU efforts to isolate Zimbabwe's 
elite. The meeting of European and African heads of government had been 
scheduled to take place in Lisbon in April, but has been postponed 
indefinitely after diplomats failed to persuade President Robert Mugabe to 
stay away. Southern African countries had defended Mr Mugabe's right to 
attend and threatened a boycott if he was not invited. But Tony Blair and 
several EU leaders made clear that they would not share a platform with the 
Zimbabwean leader. European sanctions against Zimbabwe have become highly 
sensitive since France invited Mr Mugabe to a Franco-African summit in 
Paris next week. On 12 February, EU ambassadors agreed to renew for another 
year the visa ban, asset freeze and arms embargo against more than 70 
members of the Zimbabwean government and their associates, which would have 
expired next week. In return for French agreement, the UK and other states 
withdrew their opposition to Mr Mugabe's visit to Paris. Meanwhile it was 
revealed yesterday that a French aviation company is poised to help rescue 
Zimbabwe's beleaguered national airline. ATR is in talks to lease three or 
more aircraft to Air Zimbabwe. The airline is heading for collapse amid 
deepening economic woes and acute shortages of hard currency.   (The 
Independent, UK, 15 February 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Sommet Europe-Afrique reporté  -  Le 13 février, l'Union 
européenne a décidé de reporter sine die le sommet Europe-Afrique qui 
devait se tenir le 3 avril à Lisbonne. Le bras de fer entre le gouvernement 
britannique et le président zimbabwéen Robert Mugabe entraîne ainsi une 
nouvelle détérioration des relations euro-africaines. Londres souhaite 
prolonger et renforcer les sanctions contre le Zimbabwe (gel des avoirs des 
dirigeants zimbabwéens et refus de visas de voyage), alors que d'autres 
pays européens jugent que l'isolement total du Zimbabwe n'est pas 
constructif. Beaucoup de pays africains boycotteront Lisbonne si M. Mugabe 
y est refusé, tandis que cinq pays européens sont prêts à boycotter la 
réunion si le président zimbabwéen y est présent. On a donc décidé le 
report de la réunion.   (D'après La Libre Belgique, 15 février 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Réfugiés rwandais  -  Le Zimbabwe connaît une recrudescence 
d'arrivées de demandeurs d'asile en provenance de la région des Grands 
Lacs, a annoncé, le 15 février à Harare, le porte-parole du 
Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies aux réfugiés (HCR). Quelque 300 
demandeurs d'asile sont arrivés le mois dernier, contre une moyenne 
mensuelle de 50 auparavant. Selon le porte-parole du HCR, le principal camp 
de réfugiés, celui de Tongogara, dans l'est de pays, était submergé par les 
nouvelles arrivées, principalement des Rwandais fuyant la Tanzanie, dont le 
gouvernement procède à des rapatriements forcés. La plupart des Rwandais 
hésitent à rentrer chez eux en dépit des assurances qui leur sont données 
concernant leur sécurité, et choisissent de quitter la Tanzanie pour 
d'autres pays de la région. Avant ces nouvelles arrivées, le Zimbabwe 
comptait environ 10.000 réfugiés, dont la plupart proviennent de la région 
des Grands Lacs.   (PANA, Sénégal, 16 février 2003)

* Zimbabwe. "No peaceful end to crisis"  -  Zimbabwe's leading opposition 
figure has dismissed the chances of a peaceful solution to the country's 
political and economic impasse. In the midst of fierce international 
controversy over how to deal with President Robert Mugabe's regime, Morgan 
Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said 
repression and economic collapse were pushing the country towards a popular 
upheaval. "I'm quite certain that we are not going to see a peaceful 
resolution of the crisis," he told the Financial Times. Last month Mr 
Tsvangirai confirmed that indirect contacts had taken place involving 
senior regime members aimed at substituting Mr Mugabe. But he said he 
opposed this plan. He argued that Mr Mugabe, in power since the end of 
white rule 23 years ago, would try to hang on to his authority but would be 
unable to contain the pressure mounting against him. "I think it's going to 
build up until the general population takes the necessary courage to 
confront the regime," he said.   (Financial Times, UK, 18 February 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Living in fear of Mugabe's green bombers  -  On 18 February, 
human rights activists called on the Commonwealth to investigate the abuses 
perpetrated by a growing number of state-sponsored youth gangs in Zimbabwe. 
Investigations by the Guardian reveal that President Robert Mugabe's youth 
militia are increasingly well-trained in torture techniques that are then 
used on civilians. Police take virtually no action against the forces, 
widely known as "green bombers" for the colour of their military-style 
uniforms and for their reputation for violence. The trauma is evident on 
the face of Jameson Gadzirai, 23, three weeks after he and three others 
were abducted by the Zanu-PF youth militia. He had gone to Kuwadzana 
township in Harare as part of a residents' association team. "They were 
"green bombers". I could tell from the uniforms," Mr Gadzirai said. "They 
started beating us. They suspended us in the air and whipped our backs and 
our backsides. They beat the soles of our feet. They were organised, very 
systematic. And they kept asking us questions. Who did we work for? Who was 
paying us? Who were we spying for?" Mr Gadzirai added: "They seized our 
cell phones and when they found the numbers of lawyers and [Harare's] Mayor 
Elias Mudzuri, they said that proved we were spies." When they were 
released after a few hours they could hardly walk because of their swollen 
feet, and they could not sit down. Medical tests confirmed that the 
injuries were consistent with Mr Gadzirai's account. When they reported the 
incident to the police, they were arrested. No action has been taken 
against their attackers. Thirty similar reports in Kuwadzana were 
documented by the Human Rights Forum in January.   (The Guardian, UK, 19 
February 2003)

* Zimbabwe. Exchange rate adjusted  -  19 February: Zimbabwe has adjusted 
the exchange rate for its currency, moving it closer to rates paid on the 
black market. Today, the government set the rate for exporters at 800 
Zimbabwe dollars to the US dollar. Since August 2000, the Zimbabwe dollar 
had been artificially fixed at 55 units to the US dollar while on the black 
market the US dollar was worth up to 1,500 Zimbabwe dollars. Zimbabwe's 
business community has long wanted to change the country's chaotic foreign 
exchange policies. Companies are forced to pay black market rates for 
foreign currency needed to buy supplies but are forced to change export 
earnings at the official rate. Zimbabwe Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa 
admitted today that the economy was in dire straits. "The country is facing 
severe socio-economic challenges, amid a hostile external and domestic 
environment," he says. "This has resulted in a sharp decline in foreign 
exchange supplies and rising inflationary pressures." The minister also 
announced measures to boost agriculture and manufacturing and to fight 
corruption. By doing this, the government hopes to improve production and 
"guarantee the availability and affordability" of goods and 
services.   (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 19 February 2003)

Weekly anb0220.txt - #7/7

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Un homme meurt chaque fois que l'un d'entre nous se tait devant la tyrannie 
(W. Soyinka, Prix Nobel litterature)
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Everytime somebody keep silent when faced with tyranny, someone else dies 
(Wole Syinka, Nobel Prize for Literature) *
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